Five Chinese employees of a U.S. consulate in Shanghai detained by the CCP for two years have been released.

On Tuesday, March 25th, according to reports from Reuters and the Financial Times, five Chinese employees of the due diligence firm Meixi Intelligence from the United States were released by the Chinese authorities after being detained for two years.

A spokesperson for Meixi Intelligence told the Financial Times in the UK, “We have learned that the Beijing employees of Meixi Intelligence Group who were detained are all Chinese citizens and have now been released.”

The spokesperson added, “Our former colleagues can now return home and reunite with their families.”

In March 2023, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conducted a sudden raid on Meixi Intelligence’s Beijing office and detained five Chinese staff members. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics ruled on July 5th, 2023, that Meixi Intelligence’s Beijing office had conducted “overseas statistical surveys” without approval, violating Chinese regulations, and imposed a fine of 10.7 million RMB (about 1.5 million USD) on the company.

As a due diligence firm, Meixi Intelligence provides services such as background checks and investigations on potential business partners, competitors, and new employees for its clients.

The CCP’s actions have raised concerns in the international community. In addition to Meixi Intelligence, offices of American companies like Bain & Company and Capvision Partners in China were also searched by authorities. Some foreign corporate executives were also detained, and in some cases, even prohibited from leaving mainland China, intensifying concerns about conducting business trips to China.

Currently, the Chinese economy has been struggling since the pandemic, with an unresolved real estate crisis causing a decline in wealth for Chinese people, resulting in weak consumer spending and a spiral of deflation for the Chinese economy. Furthermore, after President Trump took office, he imposed a 20% tariff on Chinese goods, putting China’s exports in crisis.

The Financial Times reported that the timing of the release of the five Meixi Intelligence employees by the CCP comes at a time when China’s economy is declining, as the Chinese leadership attempts to court foreign business leaders to attract investments.

Official figures show that in 2024, foreign direct investment in China plummeted by 27.1% compared to the same period the previous year in local currency terms, marking the largest decline since the global financial crisis in 2008.